More than Just Web Design — Web Accessibility
I am colorblind. When I learned that colorblindness was technically a disability, I was shocked. Does that mean I won’t be able to be a designer? Does that mean I won’t be able to drive if I can’t see red and green? But when one learns what a disability is, it is not a shock at all. A disability is defined as any impairment that inhibits, interferes with, or limits a person from the ability to engage in typical daily activities or functioning. People can have permanent disabilities like visual impairment, deafness, mental illnesses, or physical limitations. What most people don’t realize is that people can have temporary disabilities. For example, it could be breaking an arm and not having full mobility for a couple months or going to a loud concert and not hearing for the next few days. These affect functioning in everyday life. The American population has 26% of people who have a disability.
If such a large percentage of the world is affected by disabilities, then web technology should put focus into this group of people. If you ever think about the creation of the internet, it was made with accessibility in mind. In the beginning phases of the internet, only having text on screens made it simple for users to interpret the page. It also allowed for the those with visual impairments to have fewer distractions on a web page, and for screen readers to follow the flow easily. With the progression of technology, pages became more complex and new methods had to be developed to reach all users.
In web technology, design is a key factor because they must draw the attention of users to keep them coming back. But what are the reasons a user would not come back? People with disabilities have are at higher risk of being a user who won’t return because their needs are not addressed.
Developers need to become more aware. Not only would numerous users benefit from the focus on design accessibility, but the developers would become better at their jobs. Leaving out designing for those with disabilities neglects a large sector of users. In this case, ignorance is not bliss. Developing with accessibility in mind is not an option but a necessity. In addition to including all possible users, within the Rehabilitation Act, Section 508 has laws that require certain standards to be upheld to make web pages accessible for ALL people and can lead to penalties due to violation of the law. Currently only certain web pages are required to abide by Section 508. But many non-required web pages use Section 508 as a guideline to follow. Another example of guidelines to follow is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) which are the main international standards organization for the Internet.
The golden rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated. Web design should follow the golden rule. Always help the users. Making web pages accessible to people with disabilities is included. If a web designer develops a web page to be only aesthetically pleasing, then the full audience and full market is not reached. Not designing for those with disabilities is tantamount to handing out cake at a children’s birthday party but not having enough cake for all the children. The children who don’t get a piece of cake will throw tantrums and complain until something is done to get them cake. Designers want to avoid the tantrum and go straight to the happy child. Designers need to be prepared for every scenario. Users should be satisfied and never feel the need to complain. Nowadays it is all about making technology fool proof and covering all use cases before they happen. As James Patterson said, “Learn to think smart, stay one step ahead of the game instead of having the game bite us in the ass.” If you work harder than everyone else and stay one step ahead, a designer is bound to come out on top.
For preexisting web pages, making the move to full web accessible is not as difficult as one might think. There is a plethora of online tools, websites, plugins that can be utilized to help see where to begin to integrate the website to be accessible to all. In most instances, minor changes can be made, such as contrasting colors and increasing font sizes, that wouldn’t take much time at all. In addition, the benefit of gaining the trust and confidence of a large user group should be enough for companies to desire to make their web pages accessible for all users. Designers must put themselves in someone else’s shoes to design for total coverage. Designers would improve their skills by being able to think in a wider spectrum, having multiple perspectives and flexibility and becoming more creative in the process.
Check out Why your Disabilities make you a better UX/UI designer to see a coworkers personal anecdote about having a colorblind disability.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let me know!
Acknowledgements
Center for Disease Control and Prevention https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/infographic-disability-impacts-all.html
Webster Dictionary https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disability
